Yesterday, lawyers for the disgraced money manager asked a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to release Madoff on bail, allowing him to return to his luxury Manhattan apartment.

Bernard Madoff & His Victims

Madoff's attorney Ira Sorkin had argued that the judge made a legal error when he ordered Madoff jailed last week.

Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges related to the massive Ponzi scheme that annihilated the fortunes of banks, companies, charities and unwitting investors. During that hearing, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin revoked Madoff’s $10 million bail, which allowed him to remain under house arrest and in the comfort of his luxury penthouse while he awaits his June 16 sentencing.

Prosecutors said Madoff should remain in prison because he is a higher risk to flee after pleading guilty.

"The defendant has argued that all of his assets are accounted for and are inaccessible to him;" wrote the The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. "however, the district court was not required to treat this defendant's financial representations as reliable. The defendant has a residence abroad, and has had ample opportunity over a long period of time to secret substantial resources outside the country."

Madoff has been detained in an eight-by-seven-and-a-half foot cell on the southern end of the 10th floor at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Manhattan.

The wing, known as 10 South, has housed some of New York's most infamous mobsters. Strict rules and harsh conditions have earned 10 South a reputation from some of its former occupants.

Madoff faces up to 150 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in June.